In the second quarter of 2015, Sevier County registered year-to-year employment expansion for the sixth straight quarter. Job growth remains moderate, but sufficient to absorb most labor market entrants. The county’s jobless rate has ticked up in recent months, but remains virtually unchanged from the year-ago figure and relatively low from an historical perspective. First-time claims for unemployment insurance did not deviate from the typical seasonal pattern as autumn began. Construction permitting is down slightly according to figures released by the Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research. However, strong sales growth combined with the other positive indicators suggests the county is economically healthy.
Sevier County added more than 170 net new jobs between June 2014 and June 2015 for an increase of just over 2 percent.
Most major sectors contributed to this moderate employment performance.
The strongest employment gains occurred in professional/business services, retail trade, transportation and manufacturing.
Construction and government experienced minor employment contraction.
Sevier County’s jobless rate has edged up slightly in recent months but remains relatively low at 4.5 percent in September 2015.
The unemployment rate is up a mere 0.1 percentage point from September 2014.
New claims for unemployment insurance maintained a low seasonal pattern.
The county’s average monthly wage continued to slowly increase.
Construction permitting data for the first seven months of 2015 suggest that homebuilding has slowed dramatically.
Two permits for service stations helped buoy up overall construction permit values.
Gross taxable sales rebounded from a sluggish first quarter with a second quarter 2015 year-over gain of 3.3 percent.
Heavy-duty sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers spurred strong retail sector growth accompanied by notable increases in accommodations and food services sales.
